29 miners killed because of dangerous mining conditions. 7 killed when a gas pipeline explodes because the utility company "never got around to" making repairs. Medicine that kills instead of cures and BP's Deepwater Horizon. Thousands poisoned because of horrific conditions at an egg-processing plant. These and other examples of deliberate corporate wrongdoing that hurts or even kills are all highlighted in my new video, "Like Good Fences, Good Laws Make for Good Corporations".
This video is extremely powerful and hard-hitting. It SHOWS -- rather than tells -- what's at stake this election. It speaks directly to people's basic survival needs and shows that dangerous corporate practices put them directly in harm's way. Practices that will become even more common if Republicans win next week.
This video isn't just for us. It's for every American who has ever been on the wrong end of corporate greed. It's for people who think they don't have a dog in this race, or who think it doesn't matter which party is in office. It's for undecideds and Independents who don't realize how much they have to lose. And it's for Republicans who, in spite of the abundance of evidence that the GOP is not on their side, reflexively vote "R" no matter how deep a toll these criminal practices will inflict on their lives.
It's also for people who think their vote "just doesn't count". Point out to them that big businesses aren't shelling out hundreds of millions of dollars this election just for the heck of it. Unlike way too many voters, they KNOW -- beyond a scintilla of a shadow of a doubt -- that every vote counts. LikeAl Franken's excellent piece on why every vote matters, who wins next Tuesday could be determined by as little as 1 or 2 voters per precinct.
And if Republicans win, the American people will lose while transnational mega-corporations will win.
The victims in this video could have been anybody. They were people who had arthritis and just needed something for the pain. A man who wanted some water from his faucet. A family eating breakfast or a child with a cold or a touch of the flu. Miners and oil workers who just trying to make a living. They weren't doing anything special -- they were just going about their daily lives when -- all of a sudden -- their lives ended or were changed forever. They could have been you, me or anyone.
And that's why I think this video will reach people who we haven't been able to bring over to our side before. Any one of the people harmed could have been them. And they'll get it, because they can see - for themselves - the difference between a party that works to protect them vs a party that would allow companies to do them great harm.
It also gives Americans a powerful narrative that EVERYONE will understand -- deep down in their gut. From under-informed to grossly mis-informed, everyday Americans can use it to show, and not just tell others, why their vote next week should be for Democrats.